The New Zealand Tertiary Education Union () is the main

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

in the New Zealand tertiary education sector, with over 10,000 members employed within the sector across New Zealand. Its membership includes academics, researchers, teachers and workers employed in all occupations in universities, polytechnics, institutes of technology,

wānanga In the education in New Zealand, education system of New Zealand, a wānanga is a state sector organisations in New Zealand, publicly-owned Tertiary education, tertiary institution or Māori people, Māori university that provides education in a ...

, other tertiary education providers and allied organisations.

History

Founded in 2009, the TEU was established a result of the amalgamation of the

Association of University Staff of New Zealand The Association of University Staff of New Zealand (AUS) was a national trade union in New Zealand. At its peak, it represented 6500 workers employed in New Zealand universities. In 2009 it merged with the Association of Staff in Tertiary Educ ...

(AUS) and the

Association of Staff in Tertiary Education The Association of Staff in Tertiary Education (ASTE) was a national trade union in New Zealand. In 2009 it merged with Association of University Staff (AUS) to become the New Zealand Tertiary Education Union. ASTE was formed in 1988 by the me ...

(ASTE). The Tertiary Institutions Allied Staff Association (TIASA) voted not to amalgamate and remain independent. TEU is a registered trade union in accordance with the

Employment Relations Act 2000 The New Zealand Employment Relations Act 2000 (often known by its acronym, ERA) is a statute of the Parliament of New Zealand. It was substantially amended by the Employment Relations (Validation of Union Registration and Other Matters) Amend ...

. The TEU is a democratic union with strong membership participation and is governed by an elected council. Policy is determined by an annual conference and implemented by a number of committees.

Campaigns

As well as negotiating typical

labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...

and employment issues with employers (salary levels, hours of work, etc.) the TEU has been involved in a number of national campaigns.

Paid parental leave

The Union have actively supported longer statutory

paid parental leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity leave" ...

, including the recent Parental Leave and Employment Protection (Six Months’ Paid Leave and Work Contact Hours) Amendment Bill which provides six months paid parental leave and guaranteed right to return to work afterwards. The bill is currently stalled in parliament.

Academic Freedom

The Union have campaigned for

academic freedom Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right of a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism. Academic ...

, running an essay competition in cooperation with

Academic Freedom Aotearoa An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. and giving out awards, including to

Mike Joy Michael Kinsey Joy is an American TV sports announcer and businessman who serves as the play-by-play commentator for Fox Sports' NASCAR coverage. His color analysts are Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Joy has been part of the live broadcast cre ...

, an academic at

Massey University Massey University () is a Public university, public research university in New Zealand that provides internal and distance education. The university has campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Data from Universities New Zealand ...

who had a high-profile clash with

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Key Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016. Following his father's death when ...

Living Wage

Under the

there are limits on what actions a union can take in support of employment relations involving employees other than union members, but the TEU supports the Living Wage Movement Aotearoa NZ which campaigns to raise the legal minimum wage. A number of the TEU's members are paid the current legal minimum wage. The Tertiary Education Union has engaged in

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

on multiple occasions to advocate pay increases. These have included a strike in New Zealand's eight universities in October 2022, and another in Lincoln University,

, the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, and the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

during September 2024.

Membership

The Union is present in most tertiary education institutions representing academic, purely teaching, purely research and general staff.2014 Annual report, https://issuu.com/nzteu/docs/teu_annual_report_2014 The Union is the members' official representative in employment matters when dealing with their employers (directly or indirectly), many union members (particularly academics and researchers) are also members of the

Royal Society of New Zealand Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal ...

(commonly via constituent bodies) as it is the peak professional body in the humanities and the sciences and has legislated roles in science and research funding.

International

Through membership of

Education International Education International (EI) is a global union federation (GUF) of teachers' trade unions consisting of 383 member organizations in 178 countries and territories that represents over 32 million education teachers and education support personnel fr ...

, TEU is linked to international education groups worldwide, and a wide range of education unions and through membership of the

New Zealand Council of Trade Unions The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU or CTU; ) is a national trade union centre in New Zealand. The NZCTU represents 360,000 workers, and is the largest democratic organisation in New Zealand. History It was formed in 1987 by the m ...

, TEU works with other unions to improve the position of all New Zealand workers.

References

External links

* {{Portal, Organized labour New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Trade unions in New Zealand Higher education in New Zealand Trade unions established in 2009 Tertiary education trade unions